Traitors of man, drive iron nails through our flesh
As a second sun rises in the west
EP: Nuclear Summer
Artist: Contention
Genre: Heavy
Subgenre: Hardcore, Metalcore, Straight edge
Label: DAZE Records
Explicitly Tracks: “X On Our Knees X / Upside Your Head”
“HARDCORE FOR THE END TIMES”, Contention boldly declares themselves in their Spotify bio. Any look at their—in my opinion—perfect discography over the past few years only vindicates the label; every fiber of the Tampa edge metal outfit screams militant, from lyric to cover art.
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Contention live for the third time this year, on tour this past summer with Dying Wish and Holder (another two contemporary favorites of mine). Anyone who knows about me and my particular taste in hardcore (read: straight edge and very metallic) knows how much I love this band. You can imagine my delight that they debuted a new song on the setlist, at home with 2024’s Artillery From Heaven yet somehow more visceral than ever before. They were unsurprisingly my favorite set of the show, and I was left more anxious than ever for a new release.
That new release came much sooner—almost by surprise—this past August, with a soft-launch at Sound and Fury and the full release just days later.
After a productive past few weeks of putting Nuclear Summer on repeat, I’m glad to say that it’s just as jagged, crushing and awe-inspiring as Contention’s past releases have been. Every riff and chord progression is sure to flatten every room it’s played in. Vocalist Cosmo Vidussi’s voice is more guttural than ever before, underpinning every line with a flattening urgency in a way that I’m more than here for. The new artistic direction only outlines the darker mood: blood red and charcoal black clouds shadowing camels in the blanketed Kuwaiti desert.
“Second Sun” begins with a show opener-worthy side-to-side. I get spades of Hope You Die by Overdose-era Arkangel in every pause and that thrashy riff a minute in, one that has been in my mind for days now. “Traitors of man / Drive iron nails through our pallid flesh / As a second sun rises in the west”, Vidussi laments—this is a call-to-arms against the equalizing specter of war that’s built and enslaved the West. If you loved “Ousted From Eden”, you’ll love this song.
“Blank Stare” almost runs at the listener before you’ve had a chance to recollect, only to stop and stomp through its <3 minute runtime. If the last track was enraged at the world around, this one turns the hate to everyone in it. Everyone who is just fine with our dying world, everyone who lets themselves be grinded down by capitalist society under intoxication. Maybe it’s nihilistic, but it is certainly poignant; I seldom get a chance to see my anxieties about modern life and annihilation mapped so neatly onto music. The Rudyard Kipling sample at the end only underlines this fear of the end times—if you know, you know.
Contention closes it off with “X On Our Knees” and “Upside Your Head”, two covers by Ontario’s woefully underrated The Swarm (aka Knee Deep In the Dead). This is a band that doesn’t get its flowers amidst the ‘90s straight edge metalcore revival, so I’m glad to hear them honored, both in these covers and also in the DNA of every Contention song. If Cosmo or anyone in the band is reading this, please cover this next time you pull through. I promise I’ll grab the mic if no one else does.
I’ve read some reviews that I think are a little uncharitable to the EP—something about Contention being “clear they aren’t looking to reinvent the wheel” stands out in particular. I don’t think that’s true; there’s a certain desperation bordering on apocalyptic and woeful that I hear in this new direction. If Artillery From Heaven brought the rage, Nuclear Summer brings the sobering clarity after, with eyes wide open towards modernity’s savage violence.
Track Listing
- Second Sun
- Blank Stare
- X On Our Knees X / Upside Your Head (cover)